Sociology

Introduction

Whenever an effort is made to explain anything that is found in nature, in most cases it is very important to approach such an undertaking from a scientific point of view. The experts in the science field set up experiments to give approval or disapproval to the hypotheses and come up with conclusions on what they have established to be a fact. When making efforts to explain something that is not tangible and that is much more complicated than the behavior of a human being, it is very much difficult to set up experiments that help to come up with conclusions after carrying out observations.

On some occasions, the problems that are complex can be solved easily when they are divided into smaller sections or pieces, thus, broken down into problems that are simpler so that there can be an easier approach to them. One such example is the use of the evolution of human beings to explain their behavior.

In the course of carrying out the consideration of the human behavior source, several people in most cases present arguments about the way the behavior of human beings is genetically encoded and the level at which this behavior is learned through the interaction with the environment as well as the interaction with the society. This is where we have the nature versus nurture debate which frequently comes in when carrying out the discussion about several aspects of the behavior of human beings.

Deborah Blum wrote an essay entitled “The gender blur: Where do biology end and society take over”. The author comes up with a conclusion that, in order to give an explanation to human behavior, nature, as well as nurture, must be taken into account.

Blum draws her conclusions basically from the childhood behavior together with her engagement in the discussions with other scientists. She made the observation of her son in which she established that the son, from his early age, had a fondness for the dinosaurs and at this time, he was only two and a half years of age. However, she made an observation that “he loved dinosaurs, but only the blood-swilling carnivores. Plant-eaters were wimps and losers, and he refused to wear a T-shirt marred by a picture of a stegosaur” (Blum 454). Blum learnt a lesson while at a tender age that each and every human being, not considering whether he is a male or she is a female was exactly the same under skin. After being able to bring up two sons she raised questions about the notion that the behavior of both the male gender and the female gender is completely given shape by the interaction the people have with society. This paper is going to reject Blums view and argue that gender is completely given shape by the social interactions among the human beings.

Nature versus Nurture (gender)

Looking at gender, this is different from sexuality. Sexuality is concerned with the differences that are biological as well as physical that facilitates making a distinction between the males and the females. On the other hand, the gender differences are constructed by cultures. Such constructions (social constructions) are connected to the roles, behaviors, values and beliefs, as well as expectations that are specifically assigned to either the females or males. The differences in gender which the society associates with either men or women carry no essential biological component. Instead of carrying a biological component, gender differences carry constructed conduct that is socially agreed upon as well as the meanings that are assigned to this conduct by cultures.

According to Lorber (1), many people do not find it easy to develop a belief that gender, on a continual basis, is brought about over and over again out of the interactions human beings have with each other as they socialize, and it is part and parcel of the social life. Gender is such a well-known part of the every day’s life to the level that it normally takes intentional interruption of the people’s expectations of the way men and women are required to act to have attention to the way the gender is produced. The signals and the signs of gender are ever present to a level that people in most cases do not notice them, unless in the case where they are missing. There can be no comfort up to a time a particular person is placed in a particular gender, that is, one must be categorized as male or female.

The starting point for assigning a person gender is at birth where the observation of the genitalia is carried out to establish whether to place the baby in the category of being a male or a female. Then this is followed by dressing the baby according to the gender he or she belongs. This serves to enable parents not to have trouble of constantly telling people whether the baby is a boy or a girl. The child is also given a name. This naming and dressing, among other activities serve to give a sex category which turns out to be gender.

The moment gender of a child is established, this child will respond to the different treatment by having different feelings as well as different behavior on the basis of the way the child sees others treat one gender in a different manner from the other gender. As the children reach the time of being able to talk, they are willing to refer to themselves as the members of the gender to which they belong.

To give an explanation to the reason as to why gender assigning is carried out beginning from birth by all the people, consideration has to be made not just on the way people experience gender but also making consideration of gender as a social institution. Being a social institution, gender is among the main ways in which individuals make their lives.

Various groups of people do not stand at the same level from which they carry out the allocation of work and responsibilities, each and every one of these groups of people or societies carry out this on the basis of gender and the age levels. According to Lorber, the societies in the West value gendering that is legitimate by presenting claims that it all originates from the differences between the male and the female that are proactive. However, gender and sex are not the same things, and gender being a social construct does not automatically emanate from the reproductive sex organs or the genitalia which are the main distinguishing elements between the male and the female people. In a social construction, the differences that physiological like sex, the development stage, the skin hue, and the body size are all makers that are crude.

The social status among the people is a product of careful construction of the process that is prescribed such as getting to learn, teaching others, emulating as well as enforcement. Whatever the kind of the hormones or genes, whatever kind of evolution (biological) that makes a contribution to the social institutions of human social institutions is transformed by the social practices and this is carried out materially and also qualitatively.

Each and every institution (social) stands on a material base; however, this base is transformed by the social practices as well as culture and it turns out to be something that has different constraints and partners qualitatively.

In a similar manner, gender cannot be taken to be equal to the differences that are physiological or biological between people who are males and the people who are females. Some societies do have a total of three genders consisting of the males, females and what is referred to as xaniths, or bardaches, or hijras. This third gender consist of the biological males who portray female characteristics in the manner they behave, carry out their work, and dress up and these people receives treatment from the society as social women.

In relation to this third gender, in current Western society, there are groups of people known as the transvestites and transsexuals, though they are not treated as the third gender. These people cross over gender. The transsexuals are people who are biologically males and females who have their genitalia operated on so that it is altered and as a consequence, they change gender. More so, the transvestites are the male people who decide to live as the females without any surgery being carried on them and also females who live as men without any operation carried on them. According to Bering, “people may turn out to opt for becoming transsexual as a way of conforming to the social norms” (Bering 1).

According to Devor (56), what is seen by people as the gender laws that are natural are instead in actual sense the natural constructs. Devor goes ahead to give the main cultural construct of masculinity as well as femininity by pointing out that something interesting in regard to the roles played by those who portray the traits of the opposite sex are in general terms ridiculed and being disregarded in the society for engaging in doing away with the distinction between the male gender and the female gender.

However, Devor makes it clear that these people from any of the genders are believed to have many human characteristics in common even if it be in relative levels. There is a belief that both the female and male people are in a position to carry out the same duties. Therefore, Devor concludes that seeing men behaving like men and men behaving like women is a behavior that is human.

Conclusion

In summary, gender is different from sexuality. Gender differences among people are not on the basis of biology or physical characteristics but rather on the social constructions. Gender results from the interactions human beings have with each other as they socialize and it is a component of social life. Gender can not be taken to be equal to the differences that are physiological or biological between males and females. Some societies do have a total of three genders consisting of the males, females and what is referred to as xaniths, or bardaches, or hijras. People from any of the genders are believed to have many human characteristics in common even if it be in relative terms.

Works Cited

1. Bering, Jesse. “The Third Gender.” Scientific American, 2010. Web.
2. Blum, Deborah. The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over? Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
3. Devor Holly Aaron. Gender blending: confronting the limits of duality. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN: 0253316375, 9780253316370
4. Lorber, Judith. Night of this day: The social construction of gender. Yale: Yale University Press, 1994.

Introduction

Teenage pregnancy is often referred to as process of a teenage girl i.e. (between the ages of thirteen and nineteen years) becoming pregnant. Concerns about teenage pregnancies rising have been raised by various groups and even government officials in the United States of America. Teenage pregnancy has been a point of contention as the gender issues have been brought to the fore since the early century; there has been a competition on the need for liberation of the female gender including the reduction of teenage pregnancy among our youth. Since then it has been challenging to live as a female in the United States of America due to such constraints that continue to hinder young ladies.

The growth of a woman is daunting especially during adolescence, sexuality and their perceived physical looks can be misleading (Guttmacher 98). These effects are more pronounced in young girls. Teenage pregnancies have been on the increase, this affects young girls and their families. The burden of being a pre-mature mother affects female gender more that the male gender. Unwanted pregnancies stigma among the young girls affects their social, psychological and physiological development. This state of affairs contributes to the overall negative attitude of the ladies towards the male gender. This is developed in line with the feeling of opportunistic and irresponsible aspects of the male gender. With more of single parenting growing, the growth of a child is imbalanced leaving the core and demanding family responsibility to the mother. This a much greater responsibility to the female gender, and with their passion and compassion the growth of the American youth is barely left on their hands consequently putting lots of responsibility on their shoulders. In essence the noble responsibility for the futurity of United States of America is in their hands (America Federation of Youth Groups, p. 23).

Causes of Teenage pregnancy

The causes of teenage pregnancy are many and are dependent on many factors and also the nature of environment that the teenager may be exposed to. In essence, all teenage pregnancies are caused by sexual acts that can be categorized as voluntary (where the teenage was willing to engage in the act) or involuntary (where the teenager was forced into the act. i.e. rape). Teenage pregnancy is often blamed on environmental factors; this is especially true in the United States where the role of such as the modern roles of ladies is not well defined. The perception of women as a weaker sex also gives them a hefty challenge and considering their male violence statistic on them is usually a great deal of empathy. With their human aspects coupled with sheer feeling of philanthropy, the female gender should be given many accolades (Bagchi, p. 42). On the contrary the undercurrents of weakness and lower cadre human being have been their face tags hence making their leaving a hell of a day. Ladies in the United States are often married at an early stage hence increasing the possibility of teenage pregnancies. In such societies, teenage pregnancy is normally perceived as a blessing and enough evidence that the teenager in question is fertile to bear more children. Another cause of teenage pregnancies is the lack of education among the teenagers in respect to safe sex and methods to prevent pregnancy during sexual activities. These methods include birth control techniques such as birth control pills and usage of condoms. Another technique that the teenagers are not often educated about is emphasis on abstinence as the surest way of prevention. In most cases the teenagers are educate and prepared on how to handle sexual advances from their boyfriends and other male counterparts (Newman, p. 104). The teenagers are forced to educate themselves and often the result is negative with the higher cases of pregnancies in the United States. Teenagers face many pressures from their environment and also peers, hence it is only suitable for the responsible members of the society to pass this education to them.

In the United States of America, cases of teenage pregnancy are attributed to lack of sex education from their parents or guardians and are normally outside marriage. It is common or fad in the United States for teenagers to engage in sexual acts before they reach the age of twenty. Although sad to contemplate, this is the reality that America has to face as teenagers are many times exposed to information and sexual scenes portrayed in our media and general society. Teenage pregnancy can also be attributed to the increasing intake of drugs by the youth in America (Kidd, p. 92). Many teenagers have reportedly engaged in sexual acts while being intoxicated only to regret later of the consequences that follows thereafter. Female teenagers have often reported of engaging in such acts involuntarily after the male counterpart intoxicated them without their knowledge. Such cases are often referred to as cases of date rape. Sexual; abuse through rape is also one of the causes of teenage pregnancies and has very profound effects in the life of the teenager. Not only does it leave her pregnant, it also leaves her with emotional scars that may never heal during her lifetime. Teenage pregnancy is also credited to discrepancies in the ages of the male counterpart and themselves. A report concluded that teenagers are more likely to become pregnant when the male counterpart is of an older age than them. This is because the teenager may choose to go on with the pregnancy rather than carry out an abortion (Gilliam, p. 28).

Another predominant factor that contributes to the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy is socioeconomic factors such as the economy of the family from where the teenager is coming from (Foster, p. 88). This exposes the teenagers to the risk of contracting other sexual infectious diseases such as Aids, HIV and Gonorrhea since they are forced to engage sexually with older men to earn a living for their families.

Effects of Teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy in many cases is one of the leading causes of abortions in the United States of America as the teenage faces increased stress disorder and the domestic implications of unwanted pregnancies to the community and the entire family are perceived by them to be unbearable hence making them to commit the act of abortion. A considerable number of teenage girls in the United States of America have turned into abortion due to several factors, the major one is the socioeconomic factor and also due to the perceived shame of the pregnancy. Most teenage girls in the United States of America commit the crime every year because of several reasons, besides the economic factor, the teenage girls are forced by their male counterparts into committing the crime as they are not ready to handle the responsibility that comes with caring for the baby.

The effects of teenage pregnancy are many and often the shame accompanying the pregnancy may lead the teenager to attempt acts such as abortion. A considerable number of women in the United States have turned into abortion due to several factors, the major one is the socioeconomic factor and the issue of teenage pregnancy. Most women in the United States commit the crime every year because of several reasons, besides the economic factor; there are other reasons and impacts of abortion that greatly endangers the lives of both mother and child. Abortion may also be contributed to the increased stress disorder and the domestic implications of unwanted pregnancies to the external community and the entire family. Such stress according to external research leads to abortion.

There are also implications associated with medical effects as teenage pregnancy may also harm the mother as she may not be reproductively prepared to handle the pregnancy. Teenage girls have also been shown to ignore pre natal medical attention up to the time they reach their 3^rd trimester (Checkland 66). Teenage girls have also been shown to suffer when delivering birth and this is mostly attributed to nutritional deficiencies that the teenage girl may exhibit. Higher pregnancy complications have been shown to result in higher mortality rates.

There are also effects that touch on socioeconomic factors of the society. Such include the poverty levels in a society. For instance research has shown that a family is likely to suffer from poverty if the mother bore the children when still a teenager. This is because the teenager is hence forced to withdraw from school hence denying her the education that she might have used as a leeway out of poverty. This is one of the effects that hinder the mother from fulfilling her dreams. The social standing of the teenage girl becomes highly dependent on the status of the partner or boyfriend.

The born baby may display both psychosocial and physical development disabilities because they were born too soon (Bender 204). Studies have also shown that the child may be less physically and emotionally stimulated due to the mother not displaying affection to the baby. Such acts are displayed through touch and verbal communication with the infant. The teenage mother may be shown to be less sensitive to the needs of the child

Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy

Teachers and parents are encouraged to take an active role in the growing up of their children as this will highly encourage the dissemination of information regarding dating, courtship and any issue regarding sex to the children. Teenagers have also been shown to be highly influenced by their external environments and relationships with others. During adolescent stage, teenage girls have been shown to be influenced more by friends than any one at any other stage. Hence passing the right information to teenage girls will likely reduce the spreading of false and incorrect information regarding topics such as sex. Teenagers are also to be discouraged from engaging in steady dating that may have started early and instead they should be encouraged to have as many interactive and responsible friendships. Group activities that highly discourage idleness should be organized by the parent and teachers.

References

1. Bagchi, Alaknanda. Teenage pregnancy: developing strategies for change in the twenty-first century. Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print
2. Bender, Deborah. Managing teenage pregnancy: access to abortion, contraception, and sex education. Atlanta: Praeger, 2008
3. Checkland, David. Teen pregnancy and parenting: social and ethical issues. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004.
4. Foster, Susan. Preventing Teenage pregnancy: a public policy guide. London: Oxford Publishers, 2008.
5. Gilliam, Bill. The facts about teenage pregnancies. Perth: Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997.
6. Guttmacher, Allan. U.S. Teenage pregnancy statistics national and state trends and trends by race and ethnicity. Washington: Guttmacher Institute, 2006.
7. America Federation of Youth Groups. Teenage pregnancy: service and policy options. Time 2009: 70-71. Print.
8. Kidd, Michael. Advances in applied social psychology, Volume 1. New York: Routledge, 2008.
9. Newman, David. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life Readings. Washington Post  2009: LZ01. Print.
10. Rugh, Douglas. Teenage pregnancy: a global view. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001.

Introduction

Tobacco smoking in America started in the 20^th century with most states banning the manufacture, selling, and buying of tobacco. This was because of its adverse effects on smokers. Some countries like England had accepted the use of tobacco and this led to the emerging of several tobacco companies in the world. There are several reports about the effects of tobacco smoking in America since the 1920’s (Rowley, 2000). The cancer cases are on the increase and the physicians believe that tobacco smoking is the main cause. It causes lung, pancreas, kidney, and cervix cancer. Tobacco contains nicotine among 4000 other chemicals which makes smoking very addictive (Rowley, 2000). In my project, I will study the effects of smoking on both men and women in my area. I will specifically investigate their health and how smoking affects their spending. This research will give a clear understanding of how smoking is destroying the lives of people and causing unnecessary expenditure. The study will also investigate addiction to smoking which is on the increase.

Thesis statement: Smoking has adverse effects on the health of a smoker and it is the main cause of lung cancer deaths.

Method

I will carry out my study on five tobacco smokers in a nearby smoking zone, three men and two women. Four of the smokers are in their late thirties and one of the men is in his late 60s’. I will visit this smoking zone three times a week for a period of two weeks. I will stay there for an hour a day and observe the smoking behaviour of these people. My aim will be to know their smoking rate and their health status.

1. I will carry out a review on effects of tobacco smoking from relevant literature. I will rely on health reports and more specifically on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports (Medical Letter on The CDC & FDA, 2002). The reports will give me a better understanding of the effects of smoking and the reported deaths caused by smoking related diseases.
2. I will observe the five smokers three hours every week. I will visit the smoking zone at different times of the day for comparison. I will focus on the number of cigarettes smoked in an hour; this will give me an estimated number of cigarettes smoked for the two weeks. I will also observe their health whether they are underweight, with unusual coughs, or with unhealthy eyes or gums.
3. I will interview the smokers on their health. The interview will be informal and not structured in any way. The main aim of the interview is to help me start the research with a wider understanding of the interviewee, and be able to follow up his or her responses in my observation. These are the questions I will ask the interviewee

   1. What do you think about smoking?
   2. For how long have you been smoking?
   3. Have you ever thought of quitting this habit?
   4. How much do you spend on smoking?
   5. Do you think smoking has affected your health?
   6. Have you ever suffered from cancer?
4. I will carefully analyse my field and interview notes as I check on the health organisations reports for guidance.
5. I will write my report using my findings from the field and previously recorded reports.

Timetable

Limitations

The time available is not enough for such a study. Being at the smoking zone for only three hours a week is not enough to reveal all the effects of smoking to the selected people. I am a non-smoker and this may also limit what the smokers reveal to me during the interview. The health history of a person is confidential and this limits what the smokers tell me.

Delimitations

I have decided not to observe and interview many smokers even if this would be very important. I have chosen to concentrate on a few to get the best understanding about them. I also avoided structured interviews so that I do not influence the smokers or put them off.

Conclusion

Smoking has many negative effects on the health of a smoker and the people near him or her. It causes impotence, gum and eye diseases, cancer, and reproductive problems in women (Harvard Mental Letter, 1997). It should be banned to save many Americans from these diseases and avoid unnecessary spending. This research is aimed at informing people about the effects of smoking and it is never too late to stop smoking and enjoy a life free of health risks.

Reference

Harvard Mental Health Letter (1997). Nicotine Is Addictive. 2, 50-56.

Medical Letter on The CDC & FDA. (2002). Smoking Is Harmful to Human Health. 34-40.

Rowley, C.H. (2000). Nicotine Addiction Is the Major Cause of Tobacco Use. 15-20.

Introduction

The demand for better human security and human rights is in higher demand now than ever before and the international community needs to undertake a new paradigm of human security. This is because security has continued to change since the advent of state security in the 17th Century. Today’s global trade, movement of goods and services are interlinked to the aspect of human security.

Human beings as a race share a planet, a biosphere, and exist because social fabric that puts the different races, colors, religions, beliefs, and backgrounds together. This is because the security and fundamental rights of a single member of the human community, security of a nation, a region, or state is influenced by the decision of others. According to Doebbler (2006 p.12), “The objective of human security is to safeguard the vital core of all human lives from critical pervasive threats, in a way that is consistent with long-term human fulfillment”.

This paper takes a comprehensive and critical analysis of human rights from the international perspective and further looks at the improvements which have been made on the issue. I strongly believe that many improvements have been made on human rights protection worldwide, however many of these improvements need to be made.

Background information

Human rights are an issue that has evolved throughout human history. These fundamental rights are intricately pegged on laws, customs and religion. According to Alston, and Vasak, (1982 p.27), “It was in ancient Greece where the concept of human rights began to take a greater meaning than the prevention of arbitrary persecution. Human rights became synonymous with natural rights, rights that spring from natural law”

Human right Definition

According to BussinessDictionary.com (2010 p.26),

Fundamental rights which humans have by the fact of being human, and which are neither created nor can be abrogated by any government. Supported by several international conventions and treaties (such as the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948 p. 42).

International relations theories on human rights

The rise of human rights as a critical international issue is of great concern to the whole world. Doebbler, (2006 p.31) highlights that, Many of our dominant theories – realism, rational choice, and economic interest group theories – have trouble accounting for the rise of human rights politics except to dismiss them as marginal, insignificant, or an ideological cover beneath which economic groups or hegemonic countries pursue their interests.

“But as the other essays here and the daily newspapers make abundantly clear, human rights issues are not marginal and increasingly detailed policy and institutional mechanisms exist to ensure the implementation of international human rights standards” (Alston, and Vasak, 1982 p.32).

The rise of human rights can be effectively analyzed and comprehensively understood by the use of international relations theories. There are several arguments on whether human rights are a universal issue or a subject for few countries. The answers to this question remain elusive and no consensus has been arrived at. However, many countries have made a considerable stride to embrace the protection of human rights. In this regard, the United Nations has promoted human rights protection by encouraging most countries to sign several treaties which spell out the need for human rights protection globally.

International theories such as realism and idealism are critical in the explanation as to whether the human right is universal. The theory of realism points out the use of power to fulfill a given nations’ interest. In this case, countries that follow strictly the tenets of this theory tend to dispute the universality of human rights. On the other hand, Idealism theory revolves more on the spiritual issues as in the case of Islam culture. The explanation of human rights alongside this line as a universal issue is elusive due to strong ideological beliefs.

Conceptions of International Political Economy and human rights

The 20th century has seen a general rise in integration between countries in terms of economic activities. International economic activities have recorded tremendous levels of integration. This is due to cross–border exchange of goods and services particularly after the end of World War II. This has been facilitated mainly within the framework of international trade integration. One of the effects of World War II was the rise in economic integration that is experienced by the liberal capitalist nations, as well as the rise in the number of developing nations. Former communist nations are not left behind and are undertaking trade reforms towards more open markets. “It is prudent to note that this integration calls for the universal human right” (Belser, 2005 p.39).

In seeking to fully differentiate the concepts, consequences of contemporary international economic integration, international political conditions such as hegemonic leadership, its demerits and merits, and the main sources behind rapid integration of contemporary global economic activities will be highlighted. Further, the major mechanisms of political and economic relations between countries will be examined, and how these relations shape the respective countries’ economic activities. In a deeper understanding of the IPE, the consequences of international economic integration and openness will be synthesized. Lastly, the merits and demerits (dangers) of hegemonic stability in international trade are dissected. These international relation theories and arguments point out the need for universal human rights.

Definitions Marxism, Liberalism, and Realism

Marxism (socialism) is a social and economic system that draws its principles and theories from Karl Max and Friedrich Engels. “The implications and effects of Marxism would take a lot of time to fully document but it is defined as a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies” (MacKinnon 2006 p. 41). In fact, Marxism is in so many aspects an antithesis of capitalism. Liberalism (capitalism) can be defined as an “economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit” (Kaldor, 2007 p. 21).

Realism on the other hand is a practical view, understanding, and acceptance of the real nature of the world, not in an imagined form. Concepts of realism remain some of the most contested today in metaphysics and contemporary philosophy. According to Kaldor, (2007 p. 27),

The aspects of realism come about as a result of a wider number of subjects that relate to its nature and plausibility concerning a large number of subjects matters such as science, modality, ethics, semantics and so much more.

The basic tenets of Marxism argue that it is a system of socialism where the dominant aspect is public ownership of all the processes of satisfaction of want while capitalism has the aspects of the proletariat or the working class who only can sell their labor. The differences that exist between realism (nationalism), liberalism (capitalism), and Marxism (socialism) are numerous and are based on their social and economic principles.

Realism

Realism, in theoretical explanations, refers to individual states that belong to a very large and economically complex system with no justifiable infrastructure. The principles of this ideology are that nations are primarily focused on reducing the power of other nations. This is done simply because they desire to maintain the hold of their country’s power and to believe that all other countries remain as non-threatening as possible. (Human Security Centre, 2005 p.51)

This concept was conceived by Thucydides who was in the process of developing a history for the Peloponnesian war, a history that availed the reason as to why the states were motivated to go to war. The initial definition of realism by these philosophers pointed to one fact that systems were unitary actors that assume a particular interest without the input of political groups seeking to turn away the focus on that interest.

“Moreover, it expounded further that state leaders are rational actors in which logical reasoning is employed to select the policy that is best suited for satisfying defined goals” (Kaldor, 2007 p.34)

Machiavelli later developed this theory by noting down the needs of both the leaders and states were unified on almost all fronts to satisfy the protection of the nation. “The best explanation of core realism might have perhaps come from Thomas Hobbs in stating that …having their weapons pointing and their eyes fixed on one another” (Kaldor, 2007 p.32). “The application of this theory was not possible in 1948, the year when Hans Morgenthau published Politics among Nations” (Kaldor, 2007p.61).

“This theory is explained by Morgenthau analysis that is demonstrated in three levels” (Kaldor, 2007 p.14). Over the last decades, realism has developed into several declassifications such as neo-realism, defensive realism, and liberal realism. Kaldor, (2007 p.23) illustrates that in Social Theory of International Politics; explains that neo-realism disagrees with the classical concept of reality that human nature is innately flawed and irrational in which the focus should be on the structure of the international system rather than the motivational factor of states. The concepts of defensive realism are perceived to be more specific to the classical theory.

Classical theory denotes that in instances of international anarchy, states are compelled to increase their level of security and other states react in the same manner. The aspect of defensive realism is described as more specific of the classical theory in which states seek more security measures in case of an act of aggression. “Liberal realism can be described as a more abstract form of classical realism in which there exists a global community of states even though there is no universal ruler or world governor” (Alston and Vasak,1982 p.38)

A realist assessment of global integration

According to Kaldor, (2007 p.71) “Global cooperation and integration generally are series of binding obligations relating to the fulfillment of the different phases of the process such as the establishment of a free trade area and political integration” In reality, however, these policy guidelines and regulations are often ignored or adhered to by the parties involved. This has resulted at the end of some local and global integration efforts and in most cases results in their collapse. Realists view counties as competitors hence support only the integration which gives them an optimal competitive economic advantage.

Realism theory and human rights

The universality of human rights is not an only academic issue but also a real policy implication in all countries. All countries have different political and economic interests. Towards this, human rights have come into the center stage as one of the determining factors in international relations among countries. To improve human rights globally, most countries have put in place laws that protect human rights in their respective countries. Furthermore; countries with some elements of human rights violation are black-listed. The impact of the black listing is that the country which is black-listed risks trade with other countries. Since trade has got a great economic impact on the development of a country, these black-listed countries have no option but to adhere to the demand of respect for human rights. This intervention has promoted human rights globally.

Marxism

This is described as a direct bi-polar opposite of realism in that rather than putting a lot of focus on the always complex and messy international economics, the focus is narrowed down to the internal structure of the states with an emphasis on the economy and the way wealth is distributed among the social classes. MacKinnon (2006 p.43) illustrates that,

The explanation of Marxism is best projected as a form of socialism describing the society as classless and holding to the firm belief that capitalism will soon be past and communism will take over. This theory has in it the component of the labor theory of value, dictatorship, dialectical materialism, and class struggle.

The labor theory of value can be described as the value of interchangeable good or service that is directly in proportion to it and encompasses all components of this product such as equipment used in the production and raw materials. About the labor theory, Marxism points to the idea that capitalism provides goods and services at a value that is lower and not in tandem with the value of the labor input. “This scenario creates what is referred to as capital surplus which is a practice that expresses exploitation of workers and may lead to class conflict” (MacKinnon, 2006 p.29 ). Dialectical is explained as to how all things play to their advantage to manipulate other things around them. For instance, Darwin attempted to express the similarities that exist between the object’s appearance and essence.

The aspect of materialism is the view of thought or reflection outside the mind. This abstract is well seen in Newton’s Laws of motion “every action has an equal or opposite force.” In the words of Karl max as pointed out by (Reich and Friman, 2007 p.31) explains that,

Men can be distinguished from animals by consciousness, by religion, or anything else you like and they begin to distinguish themselves from animals as soon as they begin to produce their means of subsistence, a step which is conditioned by their physical organization.

“By producing their means of subsistence men are indirectly producing their actual material life and the projection of class struggle according to Max points to members of a class system: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie” (Reich and Friman, 2007 p.51).

The proletariat is described as composed of the working class who sell labor to sustain lives in the production of goods or services. The bourgeoisie plays the role of sustaining life by accumulating the wealth produced by the proletariat. Lastly, dictatorship is the free rule of an individual that alienates him away from the existing laws or constitution.

Marxist assessment of global integration

The Marxist view of global integration “provides a richer, fuller, more comprehensive view of society and life in general and further clears away the veil of mysticism in understanding human and social development” Kaldor, (2007 p.81). Kaldor, (2007 p.83) continues to explain that “the driving force of history is neither Great Men nor the super-natural, but originates from the development of the productive forces (industry, science, technique, etc.) themselves.” In their view, economics plays a very central role in determining the conditions of life, opportunities, and characters of human beings. Its proponents argue that global integration and cooperation will enhance economic development and will result in the betterment of peoples’ lives across the globe. Towards this, human rights will be improved across the globe.

Maxims and Human rights

The universality of human rights is not only shown in history but also its geographical spread. All cultures globally, the notion of equal freedom, the notion of brotherhood, and respect for human dignity are well supported and the existence of legal documents on protection of human rights are some of the developments which signify the power of authorities and the sphere of individual life. Marxist theory of international relations emphasizes the need for strong societal fabric and cohesion. Towards this, society has got the responsibility of respect for human rights and freedom. Towards, this endeavor several human treaties and declarations have been signed to express the need for the universality of human rights. The existence of human rights watchdogs like the UN has strengthened human rights globally.

Liberalism theory of IR and human rights

“The first core assumption of liberal theory is that the fundamental actors in politics are members of domestic society, understood as individuals and privately-constituted groups seeking to promote their independent interests” (Richmond,2001 p.17).In liberalism, special conditions, limited competition individual autonomy, and individual behavior are intertwined together to create a defined social order that seeks the promotion of individual welfare. The most basic tenet of liberal theory is that politics is mixed into the social context, which acts as an effective measure to curtail the powers of the government. Society to liberals is a composition of individual human agents who possesses different interests and identities that push to form organizations and social and economic ties to further their social, political, and economic goals. While this theory is individualistic, its view on the other hand is pluralist.

The impact of the Liberalism theory of IR on the universality of human rights

This theory emphasizes the natural goodness of humankind and the autonomy of every individual. Liberalism theory favors the universality of human rights since it fights for individual liberty and the respect of the rule of law. In this regard, it is prudent to state that the liberalism theory of IR is of great impact on the promotion of respect of human rights globally and this is possible through the creation of laws that govern these rights and freedom.

Hegemonic theory and Universal human rights

“Hegemony stability theory argues that overwhelming dominance of one country is necessary for the existence of open the world economy”( Richmond 2001 p.27). Such hegemony serves the purpose as to instill the idea of self-independence in that all nations have access to markets and avoid the beggar-thy-neighbor policy. This acted as the merits of hegemonic stability in international trade. “Classical political economy, among other things, is about laws that govern free markets, the law of population growth, the law of wages, the law of capital accumulation, the law of rent, and the law of markets and other laws” (Richmond 2001 p.29).

This theory does not support the concept of the universality of human rights. This is because it proposes that each country is independent and has got its rules that govern its operations. These rules include labor laws that are crafted not only to protect the people but also to serve one particular nation’s interest.

Developed nations have exploited this opportunity to excise power on all states to disproportionate levels that involve forced trade to military occupation. Hegemony has got fewer benefits as compared to its disadvantages. Political hegemony and economic hegemony made some countries like America politically and economically exploit other nations by furthering their capitalistic ideas and economic interests.

For instance, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many others have suffered from economic sanctions as well as military invasions. Moreover, this system propagates hatred and hence causes global instability for economic development. Furthermore, hegemonic stability in the international has led to a reduction in the labor-intensive markets. MacKinnon (2006 p.46) argues that “the idea that production per se (or work) provides positive utility is not new and that chances of an economic slowdown having a greater impact on the global economy if higher in a hegemonic structure.”

Impact of Hegemonic theory of international relations on the universality of human rights

It gives a dominant state to exercise their authorities over others thereby jeopardizing the sovereignty of other states. This kind of behavior normally leads to aggression among states. This kind of aggression is not good for global integration and trade which are the key international relation issues that not only bring peace but also promote cohesion which is necessary for the universality of respect of human rights. To minimize and mitigate the impact of hegemonic theory on the universality of human rights, United Nations has been working hard to promote cooperation among nations.

Conclusion

Human security is an important aspect of human rights and life that should be put before anything else. It is on this line that all governments, international organizations strive to ensure that all people are protected from all sorts of eventualities. Security and the human right protection is important for development and peace in a country and therefore each individual should be protected against anything which might cause discomfort or harm a citizen of a given country. Governments in this regard, spend lots of money to ensure that they keep up with the challenges that pose threats to human rights and security.

Be it war, food insecurity, disease, and many other tragedies all the available strategies should be applied to make everybody safe and enjoy his or her fundamental rights. Economic development across the globe is necessary to enhance human rights. This is because poverty and food insecurity will be reduced thereby promoting human rights across the globe.

Work Cited

Alston, Paul. and Vasak, Kelly. The International dimensions of human rights: The International Dimensions of Human Rights. Greenwood Press. 1982.

Belser, Peter. Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, ILO, 2005. Web.

Doebbler, C., Felix. Introduction to International Human Law Rights. CD Publishing, 2006.

Human Security Centre. Human security report 2005: war and peace in the 21st century. Human security report. 2005.

Kaldor, Michael. Human security: reflections on globalization and intervention. Polity. 2007.

MacKinnon, C., Allan. “Are women human? And other International Dialogues.” Belknap Press Series. Harvard University Press, 2006.

Reich, Steven, and Friman, R.Hostine. Human trafficking, human security, and the Balkans. The security continuum. Univ. of Pittsburgh Press. 2007.

Richmond, O. Paul. and Newman, Euticus. The United Nations and human security. Palgrave Macmillan. 2001.

Introduction

Background

Recently we have observed an influx of immigrant workers into the United States from several countries with a majority being from Latin America and Asia. Today the United States has one of the highest numbers of immigrants taking up an average of 14% of the total American population, out of the 14%, 11% are second-generation immigrants while 3% are first-generation immigrants (2007-2009 current population survey). Immigrants from developing countries are generally young individuals who have little or no education when they reach the United States they find employment at low wage rates compared to the natives and are concentrated in a few states.

Immigrants from developed countries such as Canada and Europe have mostly educated professionals who come to the United States searching for greener pastures leaving the less educated in their home countries (2007-2009 population survey). The immigrants from developed countries can enter the country easily compared to the immigrants from less developed countries using work visas. However, the immigrants from developing countries rely on temporary work permits such as H1-B and MA while others are illegal immigrants.

It is widely known that the determinants of economic growth are human capital, finance, and technological improvements. In most developed countries these factors of production are highly mobile and Human capital is affected by many factors, one of these factors is immigration. Immigration has had tremendous effects on the United States labor market by affecting the real wage rate and unemployment rate and has further led to economic growth. However, the knowledge on how the migration of qualified individuals into the United States will affect the labor market is an empirical issue.

Statement of the problem

Like many other developed countries the growing concern of the economists is brain drain, in the process of investing abroad, the investors send nationals to the foreign countries while other nationals expect better gains for their input abroad which in turn raises the gains on investing in education, this has led to massive brain drain which creates a shortage in skilled workers in the country. Therefore the In response to the shortage of highly skilled workers should the government implement policies that only favor the assimilation of highly skilled workers? This paper addresses the cost and benefits of hiring skilled immigrants in the United States labor market.

Objectives

With the influx of immigrant workers, the commonly asked questions are;

• What is the impact of immigrant workers on the US labor market? Will the assimilation of immigrants bear adversely beneficial consequences?
• How can we mitigate the negative effects of immigrant workers? If there are negative consequences, how can the government control this?
• How can the United States economy capitalize on the influx of immigrant workers? How can the United States economy gain from the advent of these immigrants, how can it benefit from this?

Justification of the Study

In recent years skilled immigrants, as well as immigrant scholars, have dominated the United States labor scene, plenty of immigrants have been awarded doctorate degrees in American Universities (Finn p. 27), and this makes the study of the effect of skilled immigrants in the United States labor market very important. With the knowledge on how the acceptance of skilled immigrants in the country will affect the country’s human capital, the government can design policies that will ensure that the economy capitalizes on the ‘brain gain’ research on those areas proves to be very important in policy formation and implementation.

Literature Review

The influx of uneducated immigrant workers has brought about a rise in competition for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs between the immigrants and natives. Social unrest and crime brought about by the Mariel boatlift of 1980 in Miami were a result of the grievances by the African American community in response to competition with the Cubans for a niche in the limited labor market (Governor of Florida 1980 pp. 14-5).

Contrary to popular belief, an influx of immigrant workers has not caused a rise in the unemployment rate or the decline in real wage rate to other unskilled workers; this can be demonstrated by a study of the Mariel boatlift incident. Although there was a surplus in unskilled workers, research based on the population survey done in 1979-85 showed that there was no reduction in the Cuban wage rate relative to the wage rate of other minority groups in Miami and there was also no evidence or an increased unemployment rate.

It is important to determine the impact of the immigration of unskilled workers to the labor market, this effect can be measured using a theoretical framework that makes use of labor supply function for skilled and unskilled workers and the production function;

The economic model is represented by the cob Douglas production function

Y = f (L,K) = ƟL^α K^1-α

The total output Y is a function of capital and labor. Whenever there are two or more types of labor as in this case we have skilled labor from different sources which are perfect substitutes

L = a₁ L_I + a₂ L₂

The wage rates will be represented as follows

w₁ =a₁ ∂f/∂L, w₂ =a₂ ∂f/∂L

w₁/w₂ = a₁ /a₂

This implies that

MP_L = ∂f/∂L = [K/L]^{1 – α} And MP_K = ∂f/∂K = Ɵ(1-α) [K/L] ^–α

We note that in the case when the capital cost is fixed, the interest rate r is also fixed which implies that K/L is constant. If we assume that capital K is a variable then we can deduce the labor demand curve is perfectly elastic (straight line) and the wages are constant. In the short run, the wages may fall if the labor supply is increased but eventually, it remains constant (Borjas p.1375). The short-run fall in wages may be as a result of the increased number of unemployed people who are willing to work at lower levels of wages and the limited number of job opportunities, however in the long run the excess supply of labor will be absorbed into the market with the creation of new employment opportunities.

In the cases where the types of labor are imperfect substitutes such as skilled workers and nonskilled workers, their wages will be a function of the total supply of labor, in cases where there is a surplus of skilled labor then the wage rates will be low while in cases where there is a surplus of unskilled workers then their wages will below.

W₁/w₂ = 1/L₁L₂

The level of human capital affects investment because both local and foreign firms determine the location for their businesses by looking at the availability of quality Human Capital. Therefore a country’s economy must be well endowed with high-quality Human capital so that they are favored by the investors. Investors seek education and skills about their businesses; they are interested In areas that will increase the productivity of their businesses.

We, therefore, seek to develop an equation that aims to model the dynamics of physical capital accumulation through the domestic inflow of foreign capital. The impact of migration on the labor market depends on two main things; first, it depends on the ability of the labor market to absorb such additions and the degree of the heterogeneous nature of the market. Economies with a labor market that can absorb additional demand (economies that have a deficiency in the supply of labor) benefit more by immigration than the economies with a surplus in the supply of labor.

Economies that are diversified are in a better position to absorb additional supply in the labor market because they provide areas where the immigrant can work and these economies need diverse ideas and innovation to keep up with the growing competition. In an economy such as the United States economy, the economy is diverse and there is room for more supply in labor. The long-run wages and levels of employment levels are not sensitive to immigration effects of migration can be felt in the output mix but not on the level of employment or the wages received (Leamer and Levinsohn pp. 1339-1394).

Assimilation of Immigrants

A national survey on the labor market completion revealed that natives are not likely to be opposed to assimilating immigrants who have the same level of skill or are more skilled than they are, instead they prefer high skilled immigrants to low skilled immigrants this shows that Americans are concerned about the general welfare of the labor market.

The immigrant wage rate is currently lower than that of native workers, his difference in wages can be attributed o the difference in the levels of education, while policies that allow for the assimilation of skilled workers into the labor force should be put in places we should note that the differences in the wages are attributed to the low quality of education in the developing countries compared to the United States. (Bratsberg and Terrell pp. 171- 86), the first-generation immigrants come into the country without any assistance from friends, they lack networking skills that would help them secure viable job opportunities hence they end up doing menial jobs, and also many immigrants cannot communicate well in English.

Following Chiswick, there are questions as to whether the difference in earnings between the natives and the immigrants will narrow with time (pp. 897-921). The wage difference is a result of the lack of entrepreneurial abilities and networking. Borjas also agreed with Chirswick’s claim that the earnings of recent immigrants are less than that of established immigrants. There is limited proof to imply that the earnings immigrants get in the United States will rise with time but will not reach the level of earnings by the natives (Lubotsky p. 62)

Theory of Human Capital

This theory states that investing in human capital will provide returns to the individual and the economy as a whole in the form of high production. Human capital theory measures human capital and the rate of returns on investing in human capital. Human capital refers to the labor input by the workers, on-the-job training, and the education invested in the training of these workers to improve the quality of the labor force. The quality of the labor force is measured using two methods;

• Expenditure incurred on training
• The occupational composition

The expenditure on training is incurred by the government as well as some other formal organizations. The government makes decisions regarding the investment in human capital based on the gains in the long run and the total cost of such an investment. The knowledge on whether the employment of highly skilled immigrants as opposed to incurring the costs investing highly in the training of the natives becomes paramount.

The percentage of unskilled immigrants in the United States has decreased over time according to the 2007-2009 population survey this is because the entire globe is becoming investing in education because the economic scene has become very competitive. The occupational composition has become more complex and impossible without investing in education. Investing in human capital eventually leads to a sustainable level of growth in the economy.

The theory of human Capital is parallel to the law of diminishing marginal returns. The latter is incapacitated in explaining the benefits of investing in human capital because it suggests that like any other factor of production, investing in human capital leads to reduced productivity in the long run. This law fails to explain why many developed countries such as Europe, Japan, and the United States have sustained economic growth by investing in human capital for so many years. From this theory, we deduce that Investing in the training of workers increases the per capita income.

However, it has not been proven whether the higher earnings are a result of the level of education or the inherent abilities that the individual possesses, for example, hard work, motivation, and discipline. Another critique of this theory is that the more education one posses does not necessarily make people more productive but merely provides them with the credentials necessary to receive a higher graded job.

The growth of internet businesses has also discredited the human capital theory. the advent of business processing offshoring to the decline in the business’ need to invest in human capital to increase their labor productivity because they can hire professionals abroad at a cheaper rate. However, this has adverse effects on the net national product (NNP) because the businesses have to make payments abroad.

Romer Model

The Romer model was developed by Paul Romer as an extension of the Solow Model. The model asserts that total productivity is important in determining the cross-country income and explaining the differences in growth, total productivity is a function of innovation and technological improvements. The Romer model assumes;

• 1 Constant returns to rival inputs (Lyt , Lat ).
• Constant returns to ideas: double At – double DAt.
• A fixed supply of labor

Rival inputs: this means that an investment yields constant returns from replication. This means that a firm that has employed a group of skilled workers produces more output compared to the sum of skilled workers working individually

The production function for the Romer Model is

Y_i = A_iK_i^a L_i^1-a

Yt = AtLyt

The total output produced Yt is a function of technological innovation At and investment in human capital Lyt. Improvement in innovation and technology is subject to resource constraint. This means that countries which do not have adequate resources to invest in technology will have low output as in the case of third world countries.

DAt = At+1 where At = ¯zAtLat

Resource constraint is represented in the equaton:

¯N= Lyt + Lat

And the allocation of labor is represented as:

Lat = ¯N (8)

Lyt = (1 ???? ) ¯N (9)

In the Romer model, the endogenous variables are:

Yt , Lyt , Lat ,At.

While the Exogenous variables:

A0, ¯N , ¯z,

It is important to show how the Romer model differs from the Solow model; the differences between these two models are as follows

The Solow model has diminishing returns in the accumulated factor

DKt = ¯AKa

This means that as K grows, MPK falls, and growth starts to slow down. Unlike the Solow model, The Romer model has constant returns in the accumulated factor (A):

DAt = ¯zAtLat

As A grows, the marginal product of A remains constant. As economic growth continues over time, economic growth will be caused by an increase in labor supply (Borjas 1423). The Romer model emphasizes the importance of investing in human capital through adequate training to improve technology in the economy and further increase output. It is also built on the premise that technology is free-flowing across borders, other less developed countries can adopt technology from more developed countries by training their labor force abroad and that is why some governments grant their citizens scholarships abroad. The Romer Model is very effective in explaining countries that have well-developed economies such as the United States where labor supply and technological improvements are of prime importance.

Empirical literature

In studying the effects of skilled immigrants on the labor market, I will employ data from the Survey of earned doctorates and doctoral recipients. the National science foundation defines an immigrant as an individual who is not a national of the country during the awarding of the degree. The Survey collects data at a ninety-two percent rate of response regarding the doctorate degrees that are awarded by well-known institutions.

In my study, I have used the Survey of Earned Doctorates to determine the labor supply of immigrant workers adjustment by the field studied and year of the awarded degree. The Survey of Doctorates Received provides a sample of doctorates granted by United States institutions in various fields (table 1), the sample totals 7 percent and contains information on the worker’s earnings (table 2). I restrict the study to doctoral degrees which were granted between 1960 and 1999.

Table 1.

The population provided in table 1 is restricted to foreign-born doctorates who intend to stay in the United States after graduation, we note that a large number of intellectuals in fields such as engineering and agricultural sciences intend to stay in the United States. A major reason for this is because the immigrants do not feel that they will improve their native countries’ economies if they return. Unlike the economic environment in most developing countries, the American economy supports the nurturing of talents that are necessary for innovation and growth. Accesses to capital, freedom of expression, availability of infrastructure among others, are things that make the American economy suitable for talented individuals.

Table 2.

It is of paramount importance to notes that Standard errors are reported in the parentheses. The instrument used is the log of the number of doctorates awarded to foreign students in a particular field-cohort cell. The regressions have 240 observations in the native and in all doctorates’ sample; and 235 observations in the foreign doctorates sample. All regressions are weighted by the total sampling weight for the field-cohort cell. The standard errors are adjusted for heteroscedasticity by using the Huber-White correction.

Empirical Analysis

The labor demand function will be given by the equation:

log wx(t) = η log sm + xifc(t) + r + R + πt + (r × πt) + εifc(t),

where ;

• wx(t)- yearly earnings by an individual x observed at a given period t.
• s- Field of specialization
• m- Year of awarding of the doctorate
• L- Total doctorate degrees awarded
• y- Years worked in the labor market
• r- vector showing the effect of the field of individual’s doctorate
• R- Vector showing effect of the year of graduation
• xifc(t)- vector exhibits many effects
• Η- Factor price elasticity.

The regression will not accommodate more vectors because it would result in a collinear relationship and further complicate the prospect of identifying the factor price elasticity. Applying OLS to the first original equation will result in incorrect standard errors and a biased result. Ordinary Least Squares leads to a biased estimate of the value of η because the supply of labor in the various fiels occur endogenously

log wx(t) = if + xifc(t) + πt + (df × πt) + εifc(t)

Represents a regression model

Where; if- individual fixed effect.

fc v- an individual’s estimated mean value

The second-stage regression model will be represented as follows:

vˆfc = η logLfc +df +yc + ξ fc

I have used the total sampling weights that are assigned to each person in SDR to calculate the average fc v. To account for the differing variances that are brought by the dependent variable’s sampling error the standard error of the second stage regression is adjusted. In the table, we note that there is an influx of immigrant students into some doctoral fields at specific times. To demonstrate this I have summed up the data into intervals.

These intervals indicate when the individual earned his doctorate. The data is then divided into subgroups to represent the fields of specialization, in total there are 11 three-year sub-group data for each field. In my study, I used to use two methods of measuring the earnings to also act as dependent variables. The first measure provides an adjusted salary for each individual every year; this measure is constructed by the NSF from the information on each individual’s yearly salary. The second measure is the total income that is earned by an individual in the previous year.

In the table that shows the factor price elasticity, we note that the elasticity income is 0.37 this means that a ten percent increase in skilled labor that is brought about by immigration will lower the wage by three percent. This is the index higher than those in the study of the engineering labor market by Richard Freeman (1976). In my study, I have used the sample of immigrant workers to determine whether the influx of student immigrants will hurt the income of immigrant doctorates.

The difference between the groups of data is not significantly different, although factor price elasticities possess a negative relationship; the factor price elasticities are negative compares to the natives who have a doctorate. This is because the natives and the immigrants share very similar incomes, this is because both groups of people have received similar training and therefore are very close substitutes of each other. If there was a prohibition in the supply of foreign students there would have been an equal number of doctorates either way. If there was a surplus in doctorate immigrants then the native students would respond to the influx by moving on to specialize in other fields for example they would go into by going to law studies or business studies.

The movement of the students across different areas of specialization will help to reduce the effect of surplus in the supply of skilled labor. From this empirical analysis, we can conclude that t there is weak evidence supporting the theory that immigration has adverse consequences on wages or employment of the people employed in the economy at that particular time, although there is evidence of short term adjustments to the unemployment rate and small effects on the wage rate in some groups of the total population these differences are not fundamental as in general. These results can be proven from the study of other economies and not just the United States economy.

Conclusions

This paper dealt with the analysis of the effect of immigration of skilled workers on the labor market. This theoretical study is based on the human capital theory and the Romer model, however, these theories have proved inadequate in explaining the impact of high skilled immigrants in the labor market.

The empirical analysis is built on the foundation that a shift in the supply of labor of highly skilled workers will cause a disturbance in the level of employment and the wage rate as compared to the supply of low skilled labor which has no considerable effect on the labor force in the long run. Immigration of students studying for a doctoral degree has been employed to study the effects of immigration on their earnings.

Increase in immigrants through the foreign student program has reduced the earnings of other competing workers regardless of their nationality because a lot of immigrant students do intent to live and work in the United States after they have been awarded their doctoral degree, however, the government stands to gain from this brain gain because it will be able to expand the economic resources through research and increase in human capital, this may lead to investment prospects and further economic growth.

Works Cited

Borjas, George. “The Labor Demand Curve is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impacts of Immigration on the Labor Market.” Quarterly Journal of Economics volume 118 (November 2003): 1335-1374. Print.

Bratsberg, Bernt, and Dek Terrell. “School Quality and Returns to Education of U.S. Immigrants.”Economic Inquiry 40 (2002): 177-198. Web.

Chiswick, Barry R. “The Effects of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-Born Men.”Journal of Political Economy 86 (1978): 897-92. Web.

Finn, Michael G. Stay Rates of Foreign Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities. Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 2003. Print.

Governor of Florida. Report of the Governors Dade County Citizen’s committee. Miami, 1980.

Leamer, E. E. and Levinsohn, J. International Trade Theory: The Evidence, in Handbook of International Economics. Amsterdam: North Holland Press, 1999. Print.

Lubotsky, Darren. Chutes or Ladders? A Longitudinal Analysis of Immigrant Earnings. New York: Princeton University Industrial Relations Section Working Paper No. 445, 2000. Print.

United States of Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Web.

Introduction

Communication in primates is only possible when there is the presence of a vocal tract to produce sound. The first primates (an australopithecine) never had a fully developed vocal tract compared to the latter homo species. It is out of the incapacity of primates to produce a sound that necessitated the use of sign language for communication (Dunbar, 2004). There have been different opinions as to which species first could communicate through sign language but this paper will focus on the importance and the different facets of sign language that make it worth studying.

Communication between Humans and other Primates

Some studies done in Ivory Coast sought to find out whether primates have a secret code of communication in the forests and it is evident that primates use sign language to notify other animals of predators and even wade off minor predators. Scientists heavily rely on sign language to communicate with chimpanzees and other primates in training them and by listening to animals in the wild (Burling, 1999). The first approach was necessitated by human’s burning desire to communicate with animals probably perpetuated during childhood when cartoons portrayed animal characters speaking to humans (Ruhlen, 1996).

Sign Language and Human Beings

There is evidence of humans also using sign language to first communicate with their parents. This occurs especially during childhood when the small baby wants something before they develop the ability to speak (Burling, 1999). Sign language becomes an important element for humans not only to communicate with animals but also among themselves. This is especially evident by the use of sign language among deaf people as the most effective way of communication. Reliance on sign language still goes on in civilized society. For instance, this language has been constantly used by police in implementing traffic controls or even at airports to signal pilots.

Findings

Scientists have come to agree that the human language used today can trace its origin to gestures that were used for simple communication in the past. There have been pieces of evidence advanced to support this theory, among them being that gesture language and vocal language all depend upon similar neural centers. Sometimes, primates use gestures that are comparable to those used by people. For instance, some apes use a hand stretch when begging for something, which compares to a man’s way of begging (Burling, 1999).

Importance of Sign Language

The study of sign language becomes important in today’s society of different languages. Humans especially use sign language when there is a communication barrier. This can also be evidenced in a trade that was going on in the 19th century where people from different origins would exchange goods using sign languages. The study of sign languages also seeks to shed some light on the development of human language today (Dunbar, 2004).

It is however interesting to note that humans can’t be able to effectively communicate without the use of signs as can be conveyed during moments of highly charged emotions. The sharing of some common sign language between humans and other primates doesn’t go without mention as this only goes on to strengthen the fact that we share a common origin with other primates.

Conclusion

Sign language is the root of all modern forms of language communication that humans use today. Though earlier arguments were inclined to stress the fact that primates’ communication in sign language was a sign of lack of intelligence, this fact was disputed when chimpanzees were able to perform tasks in other areas that depicted or showed a great sense of intelligence. Sign language, therefore, stands out as a superior means of communication among primates because they are unable to vocalize language (Dunbar, 2004).

References

Burling, R. (1999). The origins of language: What nonhuman primates can tell us. New York: SAR Press.

Dunbar, R. (2004). Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language. London: Faber and Faber.

Ruhlen, M. (1996). The origin of language: tracing the evolution of the mother tongue. New York: Wiley.

Introduction

It is a scientific fact that human growth begins at conception, abortion conducted at whichever stage of pregnancy is considered as murder hence immoral. Whether the practice of abortion is moral or immoral has been a global contentious issue for a long time. The morality and other cultural factors regarding abortion differ substantially. Society shies away from issues concerning sex education, young people lack adequate preparation for sex education.

This contributes to wrong decisions about sexuality being made by young people. Abortion is one of the wrong decisions made by people, some end up dying and others develop health problems that may negatively affect their reproductive system. Abortion involves the annihilation of pregnancy through the removal of fetus or embryo from the uterus hence causing its death (WHO, 1999, P. 112). Abortion can be either induced or spontaneous, however; abortion in this essay will refer to induced abortion as spontaneous abortion is considered a miscarriage. Miscarriage is beyond human control and it is not considered immoral individuals do not choose to have the embryo killed.

The right to life is one of the most fundamental human rights. Abortion violates the rights of the growing fetus and embryo. Human life is considered a sacred gift and no one has a right to willingly take it away. A human being should be allowed to live from the time conception up to the occurrence of natural death (Marquis, 1989, p.185). The essay seeks to quantify why abortion is termed as immoral by addressing scientific facts and other reason which portrays procurement of abortion as immoral.

Discussion

Unborn fetuses or embryos are small creatures undergoing human development, they are alive and that is why they are growing. Immortal objects do not grow and so unborn fetuses or embryos are living human beings, terminating their lives is murder. Conception marks day one of human life on earth, unborn fetus and embryo have the right to life and abortion would be a definite violation of their right to life.

When an individual argues that some pregnancies are unwanted this does not make the right of the fetus invalid. Furthermore, it was not their responsibility to be conceived, a woman and man had sex and conception are one of the possible outcomes. If conception takes place both parties should take the responsibility of pregnancy until birth without any intentional interference. Scientific discovery has shown that human life begins at conception, before which people use to argue that abortion of embryo or fetus could be conducted any time before the third trimester of the pregnancy.

English common law prohibited abortion only after the fetus started to make movements in the womb. They thought that this is the time when the embryo started living however, scientists have proved it otherwise. During termination of pregnancy fetus or embryo are exposed to painful procedures, exerting unnecessary pain on a human being regardless of their age or status is immoral. Whether adopted abortion methods are medically done or not they cause a lot of pain to the unborn fetus (Cline, 1980, p. 45).

Vacuum abortion which is one the commonly used methods involves the removal of the fetus, placenta, and its membrane through suction. The procedure can be done manually using a syringe or electrically using by the use of an electric pump. The fetus is cut into pieces which is a very painful procedure both for the mother and the unborn embryo. This method may cause damage to the uterus forcing the doctors to remove it; the woman is not able to have more children.

Expectant mothers need to be advised on the adverse effects of this form of abortion. Women can be persuaded to carry the pregnancy up to when the unborn child can survive under medical management usually at the beginning of the third trimester. At this point, women can have the fetus removed and be put under medical management instead of having the child killed. The woman may be considered as a social outcast especially in African countries where children are valued as part of the family assets. Abortion may cause health problems for instance anemia due to excessive bleeding leading to prolonged headaches and dizziness.

Death also occurs especially when abortion is conducted by unqualified persons, the mother leaves their families with no one to take care of them. This increases cases of single parenthood, children lack motherly love, and in some cases stepmothers mistreatment them. Mothers may experience mental problems after abortion, emotional attachment exists between the mother and the unborn fetus. Once abortion is conducted the mother may feel guilty of her action resulting in stress and hallucination which may lead to mental illness. The mentally related problem is referred to as a post-abortion syndrome, if abortion is moral women who go through it should present with great joy.

However, this is not the case many of them regret later and live with so much guilt later. Reasons, why many women opt for abortion, have no moral stand; most of them are for personal gain and comfort. For instance, women go for abortions to delay the time of childbearing, secure jobs, avoid interruption of education, and due to financial instability. These reasons do not always add up because children are God-given gifts to parents (Abortion Is Immoral, 2007, p.17).

Women who procure abortion determine the destiny of the unborn fetus, unfortunately, their destiny is being sent to the graves in their early days of life. No one has the power to determine the destiny of other individuals apart from God; expectant women should give the unborn fetus opportunity to live until the occurrence of natural death. Abortion causes the death of many individuals who could contribute greatly to national growth.

It kills potential leaders, employers, and family persons who are expected to be the pillars of national growth. Abortion brings about social conflicts whereby in some communities individuals who procure abortion are regarded as social outcasts. Attempt to seek personal identity may result in social conflicts, leading individuals to be chased away from their native land (Warriner& Shah, 2006, p. 122).

Legalizing abortion is immoral, the unborn child is regarded as a product of the pregnancy and never viewed as a miracle created by women. Sympathy for the unborn fetus has been drowned under by the demands of human rights which do care about the right of the unborn child. Every day pregnant women argue that they have the primary right to choose whether to carry their pregnancy to term or not they acknowledge that the unborn child growing in their womb has any rights. Never, in contemporary times has state laws permitted anyone to away the life of another individual to solve their economic and personal problems.

Why the kill pre-born children because of financial constraints, job security and retention of owns status quo. Once an embryo is murdered there is no other exact human being who can serve as a duplicate of the poor unborn fetus so let it live to serve its unique purpose on earth. Expertise who could have found a cure for HIV/AIDS could be killed through escalating incidences of abortion. Better ways to solve personal and individual problems can be devised to avoid the killing of an unborn fetus. A fertilized ova is one of the best miracles, a small innocent being is not a mere mass of tissue. It is a living human being in need of love and cares if it is a mere collection of tissue no debate could exist about it (Lennart, 1990, p.91).

Conclusion

Abortion is the killing of an unborn fetus, human growth begins at conception. The unborn fetus is a living creature that is sensitive to any external influences. Scientific discovery has shown that human life begins at conception, before which people use to argue that abortion of embryo or fetus could be conducted any time before the third trimester of the pregnancy. Sex education should be given to young adults notable women on the dangers of procuring abortion rather than shying off from this topic.

This would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and eventually the number of abortions. Women and the entire should be made aware of the scientific facts regarding the development of the fetus. Studies have shown that those who procure abortion are not aware that life begins at conception. Ultrasound fetoscopy shows that unborn children experience pain, the increased fetal movement was noticed during the process of procuring abortion.

It also causes health problems to women especially when it is conducted by inexperienced individuals. Abortion can be either induced or spontaneous, however; abortion in this essay will refer to induced abortion as spontaneous abortion is considered a miscarriage. Miscarriage is beyond human control and it is not considered immoral individuals do not choose to have the embryo killed.

Since unborn children are living beings, an expectant mother should not violate their rights in an attempt to solve their economic and personal problems. Women should be advised on alternative problem-solving methods to prevent escalating incidences of murder. Children who are born out of unplanned pregnancy can be put in children’s homes if the mothers can not bring them up. This encourages expectant women to carry their pregnancy to term and has their children adopted rather than killing them before they are fully developed. It violates the rights of the unborn fetus or embryo which if given a chance to live they can become a great individual in the future. It may also lead to increased death of women notably when conducted by unqualified persons.

Reference List

Abortion Is Immoral (2007) Abortion Is Immoral. Web.

Cline, A. (1980) Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion? Web.

Lennart, N. (1990). A child is born Garden city, New York: Doubleday.

Marquis, D. (1989). Why Abortion is Immoral The Journal of Philosophy.86:4. Web.

Warriner, K.I & Shah, A. (2006) Preventing unsafe abortion and its consequences – Priorities for Research and Action. Web.

World Health Organization (1999). Abortion in Viet Nam: An assessment of policy, programme and research issues. Web.